Skin is affected by many factors, including ultraviolet light, air & topical pollution, wind, heat, humidity, soaps, and other environmental elements. Additionally, biological changes, including chronological age, health and life style can effect the quality of the skin.
Typical skin problems are fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging. Aging and sun damage to the skin causes alteration, destruction and diminished biosynthesis of the major components of the dermis (the second layer of the skin). When we consider aging skin we are generally thinking about the visible effects: sagging, wrinkled skin with a coarse texture, large pores and increasing numbers of lentigines (small pigmented spots) and actinic keratoses (a growth of precancers on the skin). The principal cause of skin aging is two-fold; a slowdown in the production of extra cellular matrix (ECM) component which is accompanied by a diminished capacity to handle the production workload efficiently. The causes of visible aging skin are related to diminished biosynthesis of the three major components of the ECM: collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. Where we observe sun damage and aging of the skin, we observe the loss of these building blocks of our skin. In addition, fibrocytes, the cells which make collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid and microcirculation, which nourish the skin also decreases in number and function by about 3% per year after the age of 30.
Collagen gives strength and toughness to the skin. It acts as scaffolding for elastin and hyaluronic acid. Loss of collagen results in weak and easily torn skin.
Elastin gives the elastic rebound. Skin loses its bounce with the loss of elastin. This results in skin having a crêpey appearance with a wrinkled surface and thin skin with a tendency to sag.
Hyaluronic acid gives the skin volume and provides a great deal of protective insulation. Loss of hyaluronic acid leads to thin, translucent skin, where blood vessels appear more prominent and the microvasculature becomes visible. The skin appears pink and displays the epidermal aspects of sun damage, which include “liver” (age) spots, which in reality are sunspots (called lentigines). The skin also becomes easily bruised and torn.
These are the supporting structures of the skin; collagen fibers provide the scaffolding that supports the epidermis, while elastin fibers give the skin its resiliency and firmness. Hyaluronic acid is made up of long chain sugar molecules that form a gel that holds up to 6,000 times its weight in water. Hyaluronic acid is essential to healthy skin because it increases the water content of the epidermis and gives the skin its pleasing plumpness and pliability.
People start losing these essential components of skin at a young age and sun damage contributes dramatically more loss. After age 30, the amounts of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid decreases about 1-2% per year, and aging and sun damage combined can cause a loss of these essential components upwards of 3% per year.
In addition the ratio of healthy new cells to defective cells (that look like unsightly age spots, etc.) shrinks. Replacement of new tissue takes longer (cell turnover rate slows), so in addition to wrinkles and sagging the skin becomes dull, coarse, blotchy and hyperpigmented.
The reason behind this litany of negative effects is simple and familiar; as a person ages, hormone production slows down. Hormone insufficiency dictates a slowdown of a number of processes, including those affecting the appearance of the skin.
Aging and sun damage also dramatically reduce the number and activity of oil glands (called sebaceous glands) in the dermis. These glands also secrete the body's natural sunscreen (called squalene). The epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) then becomes dry and cracked and less protective.
The deterioration of the dermis directly affects the epidermis. Epidermal cell division decreases, the replacement of old tissue with new, healthy cells takes longer. The skin becomes thin and vulnerable. In this condition, the skin is more sensitive to outside contactants. Contactants are allergens that can cause dermatitis.
Injections of collagen or hyaluronic acid add no more than temporary improvement. They do not organize those materials in a functional pattern. The materials are placed in globs that fill in the deterioration of the skin's natural composition. The effect of injections doesn't last because the collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid are torn down by the fibroclasts. There is no improvement in the number or function of fibrocytes and blood vessels.
There are many products available over the counter or from a physician that are directed toward improving the health and physical appearance of the skin. The products try to delay or minimize the production of wrinkles or even try to eliminate wrinkles once they have formed.
Consumers prefer topically applied products due to their ease of use. The strongest topical treatment on the market is currently Retin-A cream. Others include alpha hydroxy acid and vitamin C creams. These have been shown to minimally increase collagen production. They do nothing to increase elastin and hyaluronic acid, or number and function of fibrocytes or blood vessels. Although the skin may appear better after treatment, there is still the same number of cells after treatment as there were before treatment. Once treatment is stopped, the skin returns to the pre-treatment status in about 1 to 2 weeks. This may be due to the cells overworking during the Retin-A treatment, which may shorten the cells life span.
Scientists around the world are increasingly recognizing the rejuvenating powers of the ocean. They realize that the same forces that created life play a huge role in regenerating life. People are interested in using natural or organic products for skin care in the belief that these products are safer and more effective. Of interest to these people are products from the ocean. Organisms from the ocean are believed to have beneficial compounds and salts.
A focus has been placed on marine algae and organisms that eat algae since they will concentrate the compounds form the algae. The abalone (Haliotis spp.), in particular, has been investigated for its beneficial effects. There have been reports that abalone has antiviral and antibacterial activity when injected into mice. Also, there is antidotal evidence that the guts from abalone contain a photoactive chemical that causes cats to have skin damage after exposure to light. Additionally, the severity of the skin damage varies during the year.
While there are many products that take advantage of the flora from the sea by adding macroalgae extracts there are very few that are using marine fauna. Adding biopeptides from gastropods is a cutting-edge idea. This idea, which is about to transform anti-aging skin care as we know it, is complemented by the unique extraction technology that compromises neither product efficacy nor customer safety.
The desire of the public for products from the ocean and suggestions that some marine organisms contain unknown chemicals led to the investigation of extracts from several marine organisms—algae, cyanobacteria and animals.